Contrary to earlier observations, there is life on the CB band here in eastern Pa. after all. The boring, indoor winter time blues have ushered in a few new people which have re-ignited an interest and a hope that CB radio could become fun again, with a broader range of activities than just seeing who has the biggest mouth. As a result, I've begun to give some serious thought about upgrading my rather meager and makeshift antenna system (a 102" whip mounted to the rain gutter), so that I can put out a bit more signal to the nucleus of the group, which resides about 10 miles to the east of me. This is not as simple a task as one might think, as I am supposedly restricted by homeowner CC&R's to an antenna which does not protrude above the roof line. But the CC&R's do not specifically address outbuildings (like my custom detached garage), plus I've been told that these are builder's imposed restrictions which many have expired since, lacking a formal association, they were not adopted by the existing homeowners, once the builders finished, pulled up stakes, and left. With these thoughts in mind, I've got a bunch of possibilities for antenna schemes to mull over. The easiest and least obtrusive improvement, would be to add a reflector element to the rain gutter, essentially making a 2 element beam. This would help focus my signal in the desired direction (Which, by pure luck, is in line with my rain gutter), while at the same time, reducing the hash and trash from the Reading group, who are 10-15 miles in the other direction. But even under ideal conditions, I can't expect more than about a 5db signal improvement, which may not make much of a difference. My next thought was to resurrect my old Avanti Sigma 4 base antenna, and mount it on the garage roof. There it would pretty much blend into the background of trees which surround the garage, and not be so noticeable. But I have to wonder how well this would work. With the dense cluster of trees, I'm concerned about attenuation of signal. Plus the radiation angle of the Sigma may be a bit high, and not work as well at my relatively high elevation, as it did when I was down in the hole at my old location. The antenna has a rated gain of 6.14dbi, which should be at least 4 or 5 db better than the mobile whip on the gutter. The downside to this solution is that I would have a long feedline run to deal with. I would have to string part of it in the air from the garage to my room. Something my wife is not too keen on. Plus, I'd have to invest in a 25' extension ladder to get to the garage roof, and I'm not all that crazy about climbing ladders. I've also considered picking up one of those radial-less stick antennas (like an I-Max 2000), and stringing it up in one of the trees. I'd gain a bit more height, but I'd still have the long feedline issue. Finally, I could put up my tower right next to my room, and mount something on it. The feedline issue would go away, but I'm sure I'd be met with resistance to the "eyesore" that the tower would create to those not infected with the radio bug. I'm hesitant to go that route unless I am 100% sure the antenna restrictions are gone and, truth be told, I really don't want to piss off my neighbors. But regardless of which route I choose to take, I do have some interesting options, and it might be fun to try each one to see the results first hand. It brings back memories of the old days of experimentation, where wild and bizarre antenna schemes were tried just to see what would happen. Many a good tale, like the Salt Grid Ground, and the infamous Bucket Of Water, came to be as a result of such experimenting.
Besides antennas, I've also renewed my interest in restoring and operating classic CB's from the 60's and 70's. Some of the other people in the local area are picking up the bug too, and it's been fun playing around with those old classics. I've recently purchased a vintage Midland Walkie-Talkie and a Royce 640 base radio to add to my collection. Some of the other locals have also been busy on E-Bay picking up that special classic old rig. We've been getting together on the weekends for "Classic Radio Roundup", an activity that's brought a few cheers from fellow enthusiasts, as well as a few jeers among the sour grapes bunch. But all in all, it's been a fun time. We've even come up with 3 different classes of "Classic Radio". The first class is any rig made before 1980. The second class is any radio with less than 40 channels. The final class is a radio with all or most circuits using tubes. The latter class is the one that seems to be drawing the most attention, as each of us are busy trying to bring an all-tube rig back to former glory. My own Lafayette Comstat 25 is a prime candidate, and although it once worked, it now needs some TLC to bring back to life. I had been planning on restoring it for the last few years, but now I have an added incentive, so it might actually happen in the near future.
So here I find myself with two CB radio related projects looking to take up some of my discretionary time. Things had been looking up until..........
Just when I thought that things were running great, we start to slip into the summer season, and with it comes the sharp rise in the amount of DX that pollutes the channels and makes the "S" meter seem to stick in the S9 or greater area. It's been running pretty heavy now for the past couple of weeks. If anything could put the brakes on our budding classic radio group, it's the DX-interference. While many people run to the skip like moths to a flame, to me, the DX just brings in noise which covers up the locals who cannot muster enough signal to overcome the DX. In years (decades) past, most of my friends were within 3 miles of me, and while the skip was an annoyance, judicious application of the squelch along with an escape to a "lesser-used" channel would usually suffice and we could still carry on almost as normal. But now, the people I talk to are at least 10 and up to 20 miles away, with signals that can easily be taken out by the DX. Even with my planned antenna upgrades, there is no way that I could overcome a +20db over S9 DX signal, without a very large amplifier, which is something I don't want to do. The only other alternative would be an "escape" channel which has fewer DX operators on it. But that would require modification to those old classic rigs, which may not be desirable. I mean, you wouldn't want to put a Satellite radio or GPS in a classic '57 Chevy, would you? Not if period authenticity is a priority.
Since we should have bottomed out in the 11 year sunspot cycle by now, the overall DX situation will only get worse in the next few years as the cycle heads back toward another peak. So now I am wondering if I should invest any real time and effort toward a better CB antenna system at all. Considering that most of the group are also licensed hams and we can communicate nicely on 2 meter simplex, it may not be worth a lot of effort to put together a higher class CB station if I don't end up using it. Time will tell. It all depends on how popular the "Classic Radio" movement becomes. If enough people join in and it becomes a load of fun, it might be enough incentive to tough it out when the conditions become rough. On the other hand, the last sunspot DX cycle pretty much decimated the CB band in my local area. Many people got out of the hobby, while others simply packed up their equipment. The rigs survived their last stint in the closet. I'm sure they'll be ready to go again in 2016. Hopefully, I'll be too........